Essay: Teach man and you teach individual, teach woman and you teach generation

Women can never see her children go uneducated. She will be most insistent upon sending her children to school be it even at the cost of her hobbies, interests or even stomach. This is because she appreciates the importance of education. So with an educated mother, we ‘can safely assume that we have most effective motivator for the spread of education. The so-called’ Filtration theory' fits very well into it. If we teach a woman, she acts as a filter to spread education among many others.

Woman belongs to a weaker section of the society because she suffers from many handicaps due to rigid, outdated social customs and religious practices. But an educated woman cannot be exploited easily. She is aware of her rights and will go any length to defend them.

Having experienced problems herself, she understands the difficulties faced by other women. She is therefore more sympathetic to their cause. Also, with the armor of education around her, she acts as a way a ‘motivator and a leader of the movements to remove social malaise from the society. She can share very intimate relationship with other women and therefore, promote them to voice their grievances. She then acts as a carrier of their aspirations and lets the people in power know it. Having studied history and politics herself, she understands the power of unity. So she can act as the force to unify the unprivileged section of the society and’ then force leaders to accede to its demands. Of course, she acts as a grand role model for other women to follow. Not only in India, but ‘even in the developed countries like US and UK, the right of vote was obtained by the women only when they themselves waged a struggle’ under the leadership of those who were fortunate enough to get educated.

Going back again to her role as a mother, she is solely responsible for the health and well being of the family. She knows the importance of cleanliness and well balanced nutritious diet. So she produces children who are healthy and also conscious of their civic duties. She acts as a very good civic teacher. All the campaigns for following traffic rules, fighting diseases, hygiene etc. Will be a waste if the woman of the family is uneducated and they will be not only very effective but sometimes even unnecessary if the woman of the family is educated.

All the discussion above goes on to prove that female education is very important. In fact, it should be the thrust area for our literacy drive. Man may get himself educated for purely economic reasons and being the sole bread earner in most of the cases, he doesn't pay so much attention or is inspired as much for his children's education as his educated wife would be. So by teaching women, we are in fact creating a torch bearer of change, a harbinger of literacy.